Tuesday 8 February 2011

Style Icon I: Robert Taylor

The naked ape has heaved himself out of his pipe-smoking chair, decided that Pope was right and the proper study of mankind is man, and made his way to the old film annuals, where there lurk some style icons of the past of the kind that Hollywood just does not produce anymore. "First up" (since he was American), is Robert Taylor (1911-1969). Early films included Camille, opposite Greta Garbo and A Yank at Oxford, opposite Vivien Leigh; although his most memorable film is Quo Vadis, with Deborah Kerr. Married for some years to Barbara Stanwyck, they shared a large ranch at Brentwood, LA.
It is, to my mind, a pity that most youngsters these days want to look, at worst like a beatnik's ghost (I acknowledge a member's moniker on filmnoirbuff.com) and, at best, David Beckham.

2 comments:

  1. Excellent post NJS. Excellent! Beckham does have a few good moments here and there.

    Would love to see a post on Antony Eden--non political just his sense of style.

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  2. Do you mean that Beckham has good football or sartorial moments? The football always let us down when it counted and the clothes and ear studs are probably dictated by the fragrant Mrs 'Posh' Beckham.

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